Former UFC co-headliner Che Mills signs with Cage Warriors

One more fighter from the UFC’s recent round of cuts has landed on his feet. In fact, he’s done so in his home country for a top regional promotion.

Former UFC pay-per-view co-headliner and English notable Che Mills (15-5) has signed a five-fight deal with Cage Warriors, officials today announced.

Financial terms of the deal, as well as a debut date and opponent, we’re not revealed.

“Che Mills is the best U.K. welterweight outside of the UFC at the moment, so I’m extremely happy that he has decided to come on board,” Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan stated. “A fighter of his caliber wouldn’t have been short of offers, but the fact that Che has opted to sign for Cage Warriors is proof that the guy is determined to return to the top. I have no doubt that he’ll get there too.

“I’m a big fan of Che Mills. When the UFC recently released a bunch of guys, Che was the one I really wanted to bring in. He comes from a great camp and is always exciting to watch.”

In addition to Mills, the UFC recently released fighters such as top 10 welterweight Jon Fitch, veteran Vladimir Matyushenko, Jacob Volkmann and others.

Mills appeared briefly on “The Ultimate Fighter 9″ in 2009 but lost an elimination-round bout and wasn’t an official cast member. Instead, he made his promotional debut at UFC 138 in late 2011 and picked up a “Knockout of the Night” bonus for his win over Chris Cope. He suffered a TKO loss to Rory MacDonald in his next bout (UFC 145’s co-main event) before rebounding with a TKO win (due to an injury) over Duane Ludwig.

This past month, he suffered a split-decision defeat to Matthew Riddle at UFC on FUEL TV 7. However, Riddle failed a post-fight drug test, and the loss was overturned to a no-contest. Regardless, Mills wasn’t reinstated to the UFC roster.

You can catch Mills on one of the future Cage Warriors cards, which stream live and free on MMAjunkie.com. The full list of events can be found in the MMA Rumors section of the site.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.